Another Marathon Weekend at Disney has come to a close. Let me tell you about it!

The cast includes me (Shannon, 28), my husband Will (27), my brother Craig (aka Princess Craiggy, 26), my mom, Kriss, my aunt Laurie, and my moms childhood best friend Barb. I got no photo of all 6 of us, and in fact have no photos at all of my mom, aunt or Barb (not my choice). Le sigh.

Anyhoo, as the title of this report suggests, this year I participated in the 5K, half marathon and full marathon (unofficially known as the Dopey Challenge) during Disneys Marathon Weekend. Originally this trip was strictly for the Goofy Challenge (the half and full), but the idea of the 5K had been in the back of my mind for a while...eventually I pulled the trigger and signed up in August.

In my previous race reports (for the 2011 Princess Half and the 2012 WDW Full) I rambled on quite a bit about training. This time I posted a whole darn thread about it! I really enjoyed documenting my training and feel like I made a friend or two along the way, so I'm glad I kept up with the "In Training" journal. The Cliff's Notes version: I am extremely Type A and was very, very diligent when it came to preparing for these races. Having said that, I should warn you that you wont find any speedy fast times here, but if youre looking for a somewhat detailed play-by-play of all 3 races with lots of character pictures, youve come to the right place.

I'm in! I'm hoping to run the full next year so I'm excited to hear about your experience this year. I read your TR from your last races, they have def been part of my inspiration for running the full.

I'm in! I'm hoping to run the full next year so I'm excited to hear about your experience this year. I read your TR from your last races, they have def been part of my inspiration for running the full.

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Hi! I hope you get to run the full...good luck with your training! Let me know if I can answer any questions.

This trip was structured a bit differently than my other race trips. In 2011 (with Will) and 2012 (without Will at the last minute due to some health problems) I flew down to Disney on a Friday and back home on a Monday to accommodate Will’s work schedule, which isn’t as flexible as mine. This set-up was fine for those trips – both times I was able to visit the race expo on Saturday and be ready for the race on Sunday. Signing up for the Goofy Challenge, and thus committing to running a race on Saturday, meant that I’d need to be at the expo before Saturday. So it made the most sense for me to fly down myself on Thursday to have a day to settle in, hit the expo early and have Will meet me in Disney on Friday. Hear that? That’s the sound of me NOT complaining about this arrangement one bit!

Wednesday night is the first time I recall feeling nervous about what I'd signed up for, and I woke up at about 5AM on Thursday feeling even more jittery. I hopped in the shower, pack up my toiletries, said good-bye to the monster-pup and was on the road by about 5:45.

Obligatory monster-pup photo, dressed as Harry Potter for Halloween :

I died when I saw this. DIED.

Anyway, Will dropped me off at the airport at about 7AM and I was checked in and through security by 7:10 with almost 2 hours to kill before my flight. Armed with a Bruegger’s breakfast bagel and Dunkin Donut coffee I headed to my gate and started to mess around on my phone to kill time.

After a few minutes, someone asked me if I was participating in any of the races this weekend...HOW DID THEY KNOW? Duh, I was wearing a shirt from a local half marathon I’d completed in May 2012. Turns out almost the entire plane was full of Marathon Weekend participants and their family members. I thought this was pretty cool at first – it was easy to pick out the runners as they were wearing their running shoes or race t-shirts like I was - but quickly changed my mind when everyone began to talk about the weather. You see, the Orlando area was forecasted to have higher-than-normal temperatures for this time of year: highs in the low 80s with full sun. Great for a regular vacation, not-so-great for a marathon. I was already nervous enough about tackling the races, and nothing could be done about the weather beyond being smart about hydration (I’d been drinking water like crazy in the week leading up to the races), so the last thing I wanted was to hear constant chatter about how hot and miserable it was going to be. I was thisclose to putting my fingers in my ears and singing LALALALA. I freely admit that I was being a giant baby, but I just didn’t want to hear it.

We began to board and I met a Perfectly Goofy runner in line, meaning he’d run all 7 Goofy Challenges and was about to attempt his eighth! Isn’t that amazing? He totally didn’t make a big deal out of his accomplishment…just told me to enjoy myself and take lots of pictures. I actually ended up seated next to another Perfectly Goofy runner, and she wanted EVERYONE to know about it. She went on and on about how awful the heat was going to be and was acting like a complete expert when it came to all things running. Look lady, OF COURSE it’s impressive that you’re Perfectly Goofy…but shut up! When a gentleman asked me if I could switch seats so that his young daughters could sit together, I practically jumped at the opportunity (later the flight attendant told me that the man told her that he’d pay for whatever snacks I wanted on the flight as a thank you…so nice! I didn’t take advantage). I swear I'm not normally this crabby, but it was early and I was nervous. Now I was next to a mom and her 5-year-old…the mom was going Goofy and the 5-year-old was participating in a kids race. She was super adorable, and the mom offered me donuts. SEATING UPGRADE!

I read The Hunger Games on my iPad and the flight went by super quickly…we landed in Orlando at about 11. I made a bathroom stop, changed into shorts, and managed to make it to the Magical Express area without getting lost. Quite an accomplishment for me!

Okay, who wants to play "guess the resort?" No fair telling if you already read it in my PTR!

I got in line at about 11:20 and was on a bus heading to WDW by 11:40. I always try to sit right up front so I can get a great WDW Entrance Gate shot and frolick off the bus as quickly as possible, but it wasn't meant to be today. Sadness.

During the ride I texted back and forth with a buddy. We'd been hoping to meet up at the expo...unfortunately she and her husband were at the expo right at that moment, whereas I was still magically, expressly making my way to my resort. No way we'd get to meet up. Boo! I got dropped off at my resort around 12:30 and practically THREW my bags at bell services without even checking in (really, I couldn't yet...I was booked under and AP discount and didn't have the actual pass yet). It was probably better this way...I had a race expo to get to!

I'm all in for this report! I can't wait to read all about the weekend and how the races all went! Kudos to you for being Dopey!! lol! I've ran the Princess twice and did the Tower of Terror last year with plans to do the Wine & Dine this year and hopefully the Donald next. Honestly, I can't fathom doing a full and really, really admire those who do!

I'm totally in for your trip report! You're pre-trip report was so much fun!

I think we saw you running in Hollywood Studios on Sunday. We spent the morning there and had so much fun cheering on the marathoners. We were standing right where you guys came out of the back stage area. It was such a hot and humid day. I have so much respect for all of the marathon runners. We did the half and were done just as the sun was coming up and I thought that was bad but it was nothing compared to having the sun beating down on you.